The Summons

Hated the way this novel ends. Yes, I wanted to knowwho knew about the money besides Ray, but I hated the ending! I felt like I'd wasted my time, but then, I realized something: the unexpected is why I love Grisham's writing. Thought I had the bad guy figured out, but not this time.

Ray and Forrest are brothers of judge father that just passed away. Ray found something in the old man's house and goes into a rabbit hole (figuriialy) that even Alice would venture in.

Just what you have come to expect from Grisham, great story telling and fully developed characters. Always fresh and intriguing.

Did not like the hanging ending. Has to be a Summons part 2 in the works. Is Forrest rehabilitating or being held captive?

Book Review - In “The Summons,” Judge Atlee is a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to his Mississippi mansion and become a recluse. With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both his sons to return home to Clanton, Mississippi to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for the sons, Ray and Forrest to appear in his study. Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray and perhaps someone else. I really enjoyed this book! Different enough plot to catch you by surprise and good enough story to not easily put down. It has a little bit of law, a little bit of psychology and the struggles of typical substance recovery (a good lesson for those not familiar with substance abuse). It also has just enough mystery and suspense to keep you glued, and just enough in lessons of tolerance in teaching how to love and accept those family members trying to change and the difficult loved ones that we cannot change. What I did enjoy the most was the weaknesses and fears of the main character. I enjoyed watching him mature and develop throughout the story. Although this John Grisham novel is not one of my top favorite Grisham books, it's still pretty darn good.

Wow you kept me hanging on every word until the end! I could not stop reading! I will pass this book on to all of my friends!

Judge Atlee was dying and summoned his two sons, Ray and Forrest with an invitation, "Please make arrangements to appear in my study on Sunday, May 7, at 5 P.M. to discuss the administration of my estate. Sincerely, Reuben V. Atlee." Ray thought he was in Clanton before Forrest, and went to the study to find that the Judge had died. He looked around for some papers, but instead found 106 thousand dollars. He hid it in the broom closet until he could think what to do with it. His brother Forrest had a drinking and drug problem and had been in and out of rehabs which the Judge always paid for. And then he continued his drinking and drug problem until the next rehab, so Ray didn't think he should tell him about the money. Also, he knew the Judge didn't make that kind of money, and couldn't save that much, either. Where did he get that kind of money? As the story continues, the money takes priority, the estate is settled, but Ray is usually in a panic because he kept the money in the truck of his car. This goes on for awhile; Ray finds out that his father gambled so Ray tried his had at it, too. He was nervous about the money, and it was too much to put in a bank. Eventually, Forrest drinks too much and ends up in rehab again. There is a great deal of intrigue as Ray's home is ransacked, and he is followed, and harassed. Their family home burns down, and the money is missing. Later, when Forrest is in a very expensive rehab, Ray goes to visit him, and finds out that he had been with his father several days before Ray got there, and helped him with the morphine pump. He also knew about the money before Ray got there. He hired people to scare his brother. and got the money away from Ray. The end discussion was that Ray thought Forrest would waste it on booze and drugs. Forrest was wary of Ray because he gambled with some of the money, and looked at airplanes to buy so he would spend it faster than Forrest would. They tried to reach an agreement after he left Rehab but Forrest remarked that he still was a Professor making a substantial living. Ray suggested they share it, but nothing was decided at the end. The money was given to the Judge for a favor he did for someone, and they put the money in a bag and left it at his home.

Although I don’t think this is one of his best I enjoyed it and as usual was happy with the ending. It’s a study in the corrupting influence of money. A law professor, whose father was a respected judge, finds him dead upon responding to a summons home. When he finds a hidden fortune in cash, the source of which seems a mystery, he embarks on a journey to find its origin and struggles with his desire to keep it rather than share it with his brother.

Like all Grisham's work, this is fast and easy to read. It's got his trademark descriptions of life south of the Mason-Dixon line and the reality of a small-town lawyer's life. The characters are warm and easy to identify with. I was enjoying it.Suddenly we seem to be in a different book. It's a good book, but it's bolted on. There's no logic to it. I can't explain without major spoilers, but there are not so much plot holes as plot gaping chasms. And even then, there are details that are unresolved. "Give me a year... Then we'll talk," says the villain, once unmasked. Friend, it's going to take more than a year to unravel this tangled mess of an ending.

Ray Atlee’s life is pretty good. A divorced law professor, he has few worries – his students seem a decent enough bunch, he is learning to fly and a gorgeous soon-to-be graduate a couple of decades younger is after him. However, a summons from his father, Judge Atlee, an almost mythical presence in his hometown of Clanton is about to shatter the tranquillity. Family life is complicated. His younger brother Forrest is a recovering/relapsed addict depending on the day of the week, and the judge never forgave him for not returning home to practise law. But Judge Atlee is terminally ill, and Ray has to make the trek home.What greets him is a shock. Ray finds his father dead on the sofa in his study, and boxes of cash hidden in the house. The money is a mystery. The judge spent the last years of his life giving it away, and anywhere, where would the judge get three million in cash. Ray is fearful it might impinge on his reputation, but he cannot believe his father was a crook. Before he adds it to the estate, Ray takes the money and hides it whilst he tries to figure out where it came from. His investigations take him to the judge’s ex-mistress, a local lawyer and friend, nearby casinos and a big shot lawyer. It becomes apparent someone else knows about the money. And they want it.We get one or two of the Clanton regulars – the irrepressible Harry Rex Vonner is a central character – and we are introduced to Preston French, the lead character in the next book, King of Torts. Ray is not a particularly memorable character – he just seems to be someone who does not want to rock the boat. Just continue with his life and avoid trouble. Life in Clanton is as ever nicely described, as are Ray’s attempts to outwit the people chasing him. I wonder if Grisham was learning to fly when he wrote this, because he certainly has those sections down. Overall, a good light read.

John Grisham is a prolific author who by my count has had 39 books published over the last 33 years, that's an average of a little over one a year, perhaps not quite in the Barbara Cartland league [in case you wanted to know 728 books over 76 years with 23 novels alone in 1976 according to Wiki] but amongst Grisham's 39 there's bound to be a dud or two at least by my standards (although I suspect that Ms Cartland had a lot of duds by my standards). Despite topping the US sales charts when it was published, IMO "The Summons" is a dud, not really fitting into the legal-thriller genre for which Grisham is renowned as a, if not the, leading exponent and certainly never nearing the standard of Grisham's best particularly as it's neither very legal nor very thrilling.Instead "The Summons" is a modern day Cain and Abel, the tail of two brothers, one a self-righteous professor of law, of good character and upstanding, and the other a ne'er-do-well drug addict and drunkard low-life; and of their relationship with their father and of his relationship and standing with the people of the fictional town of Clanton. The fact that one of the brothers is a professor of law, the late father was a judge and many of the incidental characters are attorneys has no real bearing on the story, they could as easily have been doctors or bankers, because unlike many of Grisham's best books this story doesn't turn on a point of law, in fact I'd go as far too suggest that little or no knowledge of the law or legal process was required to write the book. Instead this is a book about people, their values and their behaviours, questioning their honesty, tempting their avarice, and challenging their filial and fraternal responsibilities. And that why it's not a good Grisham, but then in its ponderous plodding neither is it a good read, and that's really what makes "The Summons" a dud.=====PS Don't be taken in by the Amazon hyperbole at the top of the page describing the Judge leaving "behind a shocking secret which Ray [son and elder brother] believes only he knows; a secret that could destroy [their home town] Clanton's very foundations." Sounds good but unfortunately little of this is an accurate portrayal of the book, yes Ray believes that he alone knows something about his father, but as he uncovers the truth it's not really a shocking secret nor is it likely to destroy Clanton's foundations; far more accurate is the Amazon review by Roz Kaveney that's buried halfway down the page.

I won’t lie, this book was somewhat irritating.In this book, a University of Virginia law professor is summoned home by his overbearing judge father (hence the title). On arrival, he finds his father dead, and $3million sitting in the study. Where did it come from? Why didn’t straight laced pops say something about it? The son sets out to find out.It wasn’t bad, as Grisham thrillers go, as there’s a semi-interesting twist at the end of the book. It was infuriating, but it didn’t lay out all the exciting stuff at the start of the book, which is something that typically happens in Grisham books, I find.

When we moved house, management took the opportunity to relieve us of most of my paperback collection.....Fortunately, with the aid of my Kindle, I am now able to revisit some of the better novels - and that definitely includes a number of books by John Grisham. "The Summons" is one if my favourites, well written and with an interesting twist in the tail.Very enjoyable and highly recommended.